Samsung DLP model hln617w won't turn on (not bad bulb)

Jul 02, 2009

- Any luck checking the color wheel? I can help you through the dismantle if you're stuck. A quick and easy way to partially check the color wheel is to pull the lamp housing and look straight into the compartment that the lamp shines into. You'll see about half of a golfball sized glass wheel. If you can see any missing pieces of the 'pie', you've found your problem. If not, it may be on the other side you can't see. With the lamp removed, bypass the lamp door switch and power on the TV, watch to see if the color wheel moves or not. If not, you may need to do some surgery. The wheel on this set is an older model. The glass is held in place by a pressure plate. The glass tends to slip out over time and either lodges itself in the plastic housing and stops the wheel from spinning, or breaks and sets off the motor sensor. I've seen more than one of these wheels broken and if you're lucky, as was the case of the last one I worked on, the glass had just slipped out. with a carefull push and some high quality super glue, the color wheel was as good as new.
The other culprit could be the ballast. It is the 3 x 8 (ish) circuit board that the lamp wires hook into. Its also on the optics block tray. These are trickier to diagnose but are cheaper to replace. Give it a thorough look over, look for any burst or crowned capacitors and any tell tale signs of shorting. When dealing with the ballast please be aware that the large capacitors on this board carry enough punch to do more than enough damage to send you to the hospital. I am not kidding. So if/when you do inspect it make sure the TV has been disconnected from the wall at least over night. Even then be carefull as you handle it. This should give you a better start on your repairs. I may be able to further assist in the dismantle if you're not comfortable doing it cold turkey. Feel free to email me directly if you'd like. Cfoley@hawaii.rr.com
Good luck!

Jul 02, 2009

- Two more quick things. The lamp door switch may not be the only switch you have to bypass to get the tv to spin the wheel. There may be another similar switch the senses wether the lamp housing is in place. It should look relatively the same and shouldn't be too hard to locate.
Second, when you're looking at the color wheel throught the housing access. It will be very obvious which part is the color wheel. Its, yep you guessed it, a three color glass wheel.